Foghorn Outdoors: Pacific Northwest Camping [Paperback]

Tom Stienstra (Author)

Book Description

Series: Moon Pacific Northwest Camping | Publication Date: June 2000

Now in its seventh edition, Tom Stienstra's Pacific Northwest Camping offers RVers, car campers, and tenters alike detailed grid maps and an easy cross-referencing system to locate the perfect site for their needs. This classic guide leads readers to more than 45,000 sites in Washington and Oregon, with special emphasis on outdoor recreation options and the special needs of parents camping with children. Each of the 1,500 individual listings includes clear directions to the camp, along with detailed reformation on its facilities and recreation offerings, reservation and fee policies, and particular strengths and weaknesses. An in-depth introduction provides all the information readers need to hit the trail, including reviews of the best tents, sleeping bags, stoves, and water purifiers; tips on preventing such common camper ailments as poison oak and hypothermia; and strategies for preserving the wilderness campers have come to explore.

Product Details

• Paperback: 840 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 7th edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573540803
• ISBN-13: 978-1573540803
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,614,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive . . . But not always helpful, May 2, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" (Oregon, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foghorn Outdoors: Pacific Northwest Camping (Paperback)

I was very excited when I first purchased this book. It had listings for nearly every campground and RV park imaginable. It seemed to be quite detailed in the information it provided. It was also generally organized by geographic area.

As I began to use the book, however, I realized that it painted an incomplete picture of most campgrounds. In particular, one often gets little or no information about the beauty and amenities of the campground from reading the listing. This was especially true as to the RV Park listings. On several occasions, I planned to stay at a park, and then drove on after seeing it first-hand.

Let's face it. Some campgrounds and RV parks are cleaner, nicer, more beautiful, more private etc. than others. That's why Woodalls has a rating system that takes these amenities into account. Unfortunately, for most campgrounds, Pacific Northwest Camping gives little discussion of how pleasant the campground is to stay in. In particular, for RV parks, it is important to know whether you will find a glorified parking lot or a nicely landscaped park.

Don't get me wrong. The book is very complete and often very helpful. However, I only use it in conjunction with other reference sources.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A basic guide, July 24, 2000

By 

Robert Merivel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foghorn Outdoors: Pacific Northwest Camping (Paperback)

A good basic guide book for campgrounds in the northwest. What this book lacks is a way to evaluate campgrounds before you get there. Ya, it gives you the facts but it is hard to distinguish the enviromental factors (road noise, etc.) until you pull in with your tent on a Friday night. It is best to supplement this book with guides such as:

"Camping! Washington : The Complete Guide to Public Campgrounds for Rvs and Tents"

which give a general feel for what public campgrounds are more desirable and why.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A major undertaking -- maybe too major, August 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Foghorn Outdoors: Pacific Northwest Camping (Paperback)

I bought this based on a number of the reviews below, and because it looks comprehensive. It is that, but I wonder how many of these campgrounds have ever been visited in person by the writer(s). Example: He describes Slate Peak, near Harts Pass Campground (about 7,500 feet) as "the highest point above sea level in Washington State." Somebody might want to introduce him to Mount Rainier. Example: Queets Campground in Olympic national Park : "Since it's so close to the highway, it gets a fair amount of use." Actually, it's 14 miles down one of the worst-maintained, potholed roads you'll ever find. Example: Daroga State Park, a major central washington campground, is nowhere to be found in this guide. Nor are a whole string of camprounds above Lake Chelan in the Wenatchee National Forest. Other things about the book make little sense. Like giving every boat-in state park its own full listing, as if it's a legit campground accessible to anyone other than a boater who enjoys sleeping on an exposed rock. Same goes for DNR camprounds, most of which are so primitive they barely rate a mention -- yet get just as much space (and sometimes praise) as real campgrounds. If you're new to the area and plan on setting itineraries using only this guide, good luck. You're going to learn the hard way.